34 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Rob and Alison Thwaites Owned & cherished by Rob and Alison Thwaites Richard Loader While this year marks the end of an era when Glanton Jerseys will be no more, its legacy will be remembered for the extraordinary impact that it has had on dairy farming in New Zealand and abroad. For the last four decades Glanton Jerseys has been owned and cherished by Rob and Alison Thwaites who farmed 51 hectares in Oeo, Coastal Taranaki, milking 180 pedigree jerseys. With Rob and Alison’s four adult children pursuing non-farming careers, the last two years have been spent planning the sale of their farm and the herd. “Our herd has been in the top ten in New Zealand (genetically) for twenty years and it was important that the cows were sold to people who would carry on doing something very similar to what we had done,” says Rob. The calves, in-calf heifers and two year olds have gone to OAD breeders, Matthew and Emma Darke (Rockland Jerseys) at PioPio. A pick of the three year olds and over went to the Cartwright family at Inglewood, with Tom Cartwright (Tawa Grove)and brother-in-law, Craig Wellington (Longbridge) sharing the pick. Glanton Jerseys has been part of New Zealand’s dairy farming journey for 100 years, with 70 of those years spanning two generations of the Thwaites family. In the early 1950s, Rob’s father, Jim, was given the Glanton stud name by the Kirton Bros when he bought cows at their dispersal sale. The following year local breeder, Gordon Scown (Brookdale), offered Jim a free pick of his in-calf heifers. “The heifer, Brookdale Donna, established an elite cow family at Glanton. Her great grandson, Glanton Red Dante, was Jersey NZ Sire of the Century with 414,000 inseminations worldwide. My parents actually visited twenty-one countries where he had daughters.” When Rob and Alison purchased the herd in the 1980s, dairy icon Jim Cavanaugh was near the end of his 30 year career as the American Jersey executive secretary. He is credited with saving the breed in the US when jerseys were getting smaller, prettier and a lot less competitive. At a conference Jim told breeders to go home, identify their best performing cows and learn to like how they looked; a quote Rob and Alison credit their success with. “Advice from Mark Townshend, the Cutforth family and Tony Landers helped us to remain focused on breeding profitable cows. Our proudest achievement as breeders was Glanton Mans Blanche being named a Jersey inaugural Hall of Fame recipient, the other cow being Okura Glanton Red Dante. Admirals Iris. Blanche was born in 2005 and the LIC have purchased 25 bulls that descend from her. Leading sires descending from Blanche to date are: Glanton SS Bastille BW 595, Glanton Desi Banff BW 549, and Glanton Flynn Brisbane BW 541. Three female descendants of Blanche sold at recent Jersey NZ Pride sales were Glanton Punch Briar, $23,600, Glanton FC Bane, $16,900 and Glanton Triple Bardot, $14,200.” Rob says the best bull used at Glanton was, without question, LIC Hall of Fame Sire, Okura LT Integrity. “LIC have been very strong supporters of the across-breeds evaluation system and the top 50,000 jersey cows in New Zealand (genetically) are world leading for profitability on a mainly grass-based diet and second to none environmentally.” www.taranaki-vets.co.nz Clinics - Stratford · · Manaia Hawera Patea · · W averley Proud to have supported Rob & Alison Thwaites PROUD TO PROVIDE ACCOUNTING SERVICES FOR ROB & ALISON THWAITES With offices in Hawera, Patea, Opunake and New Plymouth YXM700 From $23399 + Gst YXE850 From $22999 + Gst YMF Finance available! Terms and Conditions apply Phone 06 278 4756 309 South Road, Hawera www.baileymotorcycles.co.nz “Our herd has been in the top ten in New Zealand (genetically) for twenty years and it was important that the cows were sold to people who would carry on doing something very similar to what we had done.”
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